Gainesville city employee charged with stealing over $90,000

GAINESVILLE, Fla. (WOGX FOX 51) - A Gainesville city employee has been arrested after police say she charged tens of thousands of dollars in personal purchases on city credit cards.

City spokesman Bob Woods said Natwaina Sharee Clark, 33, was arrested Tuesday and charged with grand theft and scheming to defraud.

Clark was a staff assistant for Gainesville's cultural affairs manager and parks manager.  During a recent financial audit, her managers noticed she'd made unapproved purchases dating back to November 2015 totaling $91,598. Many were made during non-business hours.

A total of 169 fraudulent purchases were made on three different city-issued credit card to which she had access, Woods said. 

"We've identified, at this point, that a lot of the charges have been to PayPal accounts and gift cards," explained Officer Ben Tobias, with the Gainesville Police Department. 

Gainesville police did not identify the items she purchased.

Clark bonded out of the Alachua County Jail on Thursday. It was not clear if she had hired an attorney.